Launch activity slowed to just sixteen new product introductions in December, well below 2011’s monthly average of more than twenty-five. The 308 new listings in 2011 established a new calendar year record, surpassing the 291 of 2007. The sixteen new arrivals are made up of thirteen ETFs and six ETNs.

Closure activity hit a new monthly high with 23 delistings. The previous record was set in May 2009 when PowerShares cleaned house by closing down 19 faltering funds. All 23 closures in December were ETFs (no ETNs) and resulted in seven fewer product listings at month’s end. This was the first monthly decline of ETP listings since May 2010.

The year ended with 1,369 exchange-traded products listed for trading in US markets. The current count, consisting of 1,166 ETFs and 203 ETNs, represents a 24.6% increase over year-end 2010. Actively managed ETFs remain an insignificant portion of the population, numbering just 39.

Asset growth did not keep pace with product growth. Total assets under management ended the year at $1.06 trillion, only 5.1% above the $1.01 trillion at the start of the year.

For the month of December, assets under management slipped by 0.4%. Trading activity declined about 19%, which is not surprising given the typical light volume during the year-end holidays. The decline was not equally shared between ETFs and ETNs, with ETF daily average dollar volume dropping 18.9% while ETN trading saw a massive 41.8% dropoff. Dollar volume across all products averaged just $63.5 billion per day.

The number of ETFs averaging more than $1 billion in daily trading activity (the Billion-Dollar Club) plunged from 13 to just 7 in December while still accounting for more than 56% of all ETP dollars traded. Products averaging more than $100 million of trading per day decreased from 76 to 68 while grabbing 88.9% of all ETP dollar volume.

December 2011 Month End

ETFs

ETNs

Total

Currently Listed U.S.

1,166

203

1,369

Listed as of 12/31/2010

967

132

1,099

New Introductions for Month

13

3

16

Delistings/Closures for Month

23

0

23

Net Change for Month

-10

+3

-7

New Introductions 6 mths

78

40

118

New Introductions YTD

231

77

308

Delistings/Closures YTD

32

6

38

Net Change YTD

+199

+71

+270

Actively-Managed Listings

39

0

39

Assets Under Mgmt ($ billion)

$1,045

$14.7

$1,060

% Change in Assets for Month

-0.4%

+0.4%

-0.4%

Monthly $ Volume ($ billion)

$1,313

$20.3

$1,334

% Change in Monthly $ Volume

-18.9%

-41.8%

-19.4%

Avg Daily $ Volume > $1 Billion

7

0

7

Avg Daily $ Volume > $100 Million

66

2

68

Avg Daily $ Volume > $10 Million

218

9

227

Click to enlarge

Daily prices and volume of individual ETPs from Norgate Premium Data; AUM from ETF Industry Association; fund counts and all other information compiled by Invest With An Edge.

New products launched in December (in chronological order), along with links to my initial analysis of each:

AdvisorShares performed an extreme-makeover of an ETF rather than closing and liquidating the old one and launching a new one. AdvisorShares Mars Hill Global Relative Value (GRV) received a new name, new ticker symbol, new objective, new manager, and new portfolio effective 12/1/11. It is now known as the AdvisorShares Accuvest Global Long Short ETF (NYSEARCA:AGLS).

Disclosure covering writer, editor, publisher, and affiliates: No positions in any of the securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned. No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.